Forum topic

Not heard those rumours but both, particularly Preston, are becoming seriously uncompetitive - if Tasmania come into the comp then the number of teams will become just unwieldy and if two divisions aren't created then it's just going to become unmanageable - there are also rumours of Adelaide Crows joining the comp and maybe Port Power as the SANFL clubs don't want them 

Yesterday Sandy beat Preston by 99pts. The Ants could not match the talls from St Kilda. 

Smallest and quietest attendance at TBBO I have seen, Next to no spectators at the Sauntner goal; the beer booth was closed.

Hard to see the Bullants going around again. It sounds harsh but I think it was a mistake bringing them back in. They were always going to be fighting a huge uphill battle and it has made life harder for Coburg, who had found it hard enough to be competitive prior to that.

Can't to see how Preston and Coburg will be allowed to continue. Financial issues on top of poor onfield performances are sounding the death knell. Preston were competitive up til round 11 with two wins and some good showings but the wheels have well and truly fallen off now. Hope Frankston are not next..

Well, clearly Frankston will be next in the crosshairs......if this rumour is true, we should all be concerned. If Port, Werribee and Willy think they will be safe they're kidding themselves. No way will the AFL want three VFA clubs tacked onto the end of its' reserves competition. This is so concerning for the future of Victorian football. An AFL reserves comp with 10 Victorian teams is not a Victorian state league. I'm so saddened that the AFL don't see the importance of this to protect the heartland of the sport. Is there any possibility of a breakaway league? Could the remaining clubs find a way to fund it sufficiently? I think it's the only way for our clubs to maintain the competition.....am sure none of us want to watch our clubs running around in local leagues.

aj  wrote ...  "Is there any possibility of a breakaway league?"
On the Local Footy (Ch 44) last Friday. There was a story about the Picola League breaking away from AFLV.  

aj  wrote ...  "Is there any possibility of a breakaway league?"
On the Local Footy (Ch 44) last Friday. There was a story about the Picola League breaking away from AFLV.  

A new league would require AFL funding and I cant see that happening. They have made it clear they wont help struggling clubs financially and funding a new league to keep a few struggling clubs going would be too much to hope for. 

I fear it will be back to suburban footy or bust, like all the other VFA clubs of the past...

Their view is if stand alone clubs can survive off their own bat they're happy to have them in the comp, but they're not going to put money into them. That's where the challenge is for Preston and Coburg. My understanding is Frankston's not yet close to that point, but a few more down years on the field might make it challenging.

Frankston made only $1000 trading profit last year which puts them behind the eight ball. There is no money to sign new players and importantly experienced assistant coaches, so they have to go the kids route again which means similar onfield results to the last few years, but if Preston and Coburg get the chop, Frankston will probably be looking at the wooden spoon which wont help their cause.

I see they signed 6 youngsters to 2 year deals recently, but a lot will depend on retention of current players, although the financial situation will make that difficult. They shouldnt lose too many to the draft though - I expect Owens will get picked up at some stage.

"There is no money to sign new players and importantly experienced assistant coaches"

My understanding, and I believe it is very accurate, is that's not true. The Dolphins are going ok financially. Trading profits don't tell all the story. Whether they can maintain that medium to long term is the challenge.

Thanks Paul..always respect your input. I have similar mail in that they are travelling OK, but are not yet in a position to spend. I guess we will see in a few months with their recruiting..

Are you going to Coburg on Saturday? Should be a good one - Burgers always produce their best against Frankston.

It doesn't really matter where Coburg and Frankston are on the ladder, it's game on! A genuine rivarly in a comp really lacking them now. I feel for the Burgers, as they've played some good footy at times this year, but the Dolphs really need this win.

Re recruiting, the biggest issue Frankston face, and have for quite some time, is location. It's hard to convince people living inner city to drive past a lot of other clubs to play down south, and if you do it's often not money well spent as they won't hang around.

It's not all gloom and doom out there guys, from what i've been told the incoming AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon, is very supportive of the current VFL structure and if clubs do fall by the wayside it will only be due to financial issues or being uncompetitive on-field, they won't be forced out by the AFL wanting to make the VFL a purely AFL Seconds or Reserves comp. 

Re recruiting, the biggest issue Frankston face, and have for quite some time, is location. It's hard to convince people living inner city to drive past a lot of other clubs to play down south, and if you do it's often not money well spent as they won't hang around.

Its a good point Paul. Its probably one reason why player retention is so difficult for Frankston. We have lost some good players because of relocation of home or work. Eg, Mitch Cox, Corey Rich, Taylin Duman, Mitch McCarthy, Jason Pongracic, Jack Mentha to name a few.

All 21 clubs will be participating in 2024 season!!!!

Robbo, I didn't have any doubt that the VFL would continue in its' current structure next year......it might for the next 5-10 years, but that's not the point. The point is wondering where we are headed in the long term. 

Firstly, there can be no doubt that the league are at best apathetic about the survival of the standalones. The attitude coming from the AFL seems to be that if we can find a way to survive then good luck to us. But we're not on a level playing field to do that.

I think it's great that Werribee and Willy have found a way to flourish on the field this season. Obviously their pokie $$$ have allowed them to pay some decent players, and while I haven't seen enough of Willy to comment, it's pretty obvious Werribee have assembled a group that have a strong team ethic. Great if they can go all the way and win the thing. I'm sure that they worry about players being drafted just like the rest of us though....if they can hang on to the blokes they have, that's terrific.

I look at Brodie McLaughlin as a case study......he's not the first from Frankston to be drafted, but the story is a familiar one all the same. Yes, we're more than pleased for him to go on an play league footy, but he hasn't. No, he's spent the year in the VFL kicking goals for Gold Coast rather than Frankston. In fact, the ultimate kick in the teeth comes when he kicks a bag AGAINST us as the Suns rout the Dolphins. So you ask, how the hell do we build and retain a team as a standalone that is capable of playing finals footy? When the cream of our crop gets taken year after year, only to run around in the reserves for an AFL club against us? How handy would Brodie and Reidy have been for the Dolphins this season? 

For our clubs to survive, we need members. To get members and people coming through the gates we need a competitive side. How can we build that competitive side when we lose our best players constantly to AFL clubs who play them in the reserves against us, to other standalones who have pokie money to spend, or to cashed up local clubs?

So, to build the kind of side that can keep the money flowing in, you need blokes who are close to good enough for an AFL list but don't want to make one, and who are loyal to helping you build a strong second tier side. That's a rare kind of bloke in truth. We're very lucky to have one in Will Fordham, but they're a rare commodity. 

I want to see my club survive and flourish. I still want to see that elusive premiership (96 and 97 still burn in my gut). Not gonna happen under the current league format though, no way no how. Give us an even chance at success, because without it there is very little hope for the future.

Beautifully said AJ. You should email it to Andrew Dillon.

You really think he'd care Bearsman? I don't think anyone at AFL House cares one iota if Frankston/Willy/Port/Coburg/Preston/Werribee survive. They can't kick us out because of the backlash there would be, but they can slowly exterminate us by giving us no realistic chance at competitiveness, which they're doing nice and slowly. My honest opinion is that unless some kind of breakaway happens in the next ten years, we're all headed for oblivion.

They don't want to exterminate those clubs while they're providing chances for mature-aged draftees. No, the history of those clubs probably means stuff all to AFL HQ (especially with the lack of footy people on the commission), but the role they play in the current landscape is seen as important.

There's been a running assumption about an agenda to get an AFL reserves comp for a long time now, but it misses the point that a return to that comp doesn't serve the AFL's purposes as well as the current set up.

I grant that possibility Paul......but there is no interest in the standalones other than to feed the AFL juggernaut. Providing a fair playing field where the standalones can actually succeed is definitely not a priority. Grand Final week 2016 proved exactly where we stand. Looking at cause and effect over the next few years, standalone clubs will become less and less competitive as they struggle to compete with better funded, better trained and better coached sides half full of AFL listed players. 

In the past, VFA clubs stayed competitive often with the addition of ex-AFL players at the end of their careers. That is a rarity now with players paid handsomely for celebrity games. Where on earth do we get players from now? This is why I'm such an advocate of the Dolphins looking into any form of benefit we can provide to MPNFL clubs. If we can find a way to convince the clubs and their players that their best should consider it an honour to represent the Dolphins, then we have a possible route to survival and success. Without it, I really struggle to see a way home. We've done a great job of getting undrafted talent from the NAB League, but often there's good reason why they weren't drafted. We need something more. I can't picture us being in a financial position under our current direction to recruit the best of the rest.

"I grant that possibility Paul......but there is no interest in the standalones other than to feed the AFL juggernaut."

Agree completely.

"standalone clubs will become less and less competitive as they struggle to compete with better funded, better trained and better coached sides half full of AFL listed players. "

Completely disagree. I've been hearing that for almost two decades, yet standalone clubs that build continuity have been successful right across that time. Right now we have two in the top four.

Yep, it's bloody hard work to keep a standalone club sustainable, especially without additional revenue, but clubs that can do that can, have and will continue to be at the top end of the ladder.
 

Willi and Port have both won premierships in the last eight seasons - with an ounce of luck Willi could have won two, so it can be done 

North Port you are 100% correct.

The VFL/now  AFL have always wanted to belittle the VFA's place in the founding of Australian Football in Victoria and always will!

The irony is that ALL the Victorian VFL/AFL clubs and the Sydney Swans came via the VFA! It is like denying that you had any parents,

That is why I have never been an a VFL or AFL club supporter unlike many other VFA supporters as there is way too much bad blood to be forgiven in my 75 years of following the Sandringham FC and seeing the constant undermining of the VFA  by the VFL/AFL and their media mates!

Then again there was the glorious 25 years when we were different with the Sunday footy and 16 men a side and that is the reason the the current pathetic "VFL" won't work as it is seen by the football public in Victoria as second rate and a pale imitation of the AFL!.

Blackrocker sIaid

"Smallest and quietest attendance at TBBO I have seen, Next to no spectators at the Sauntner goal; the beer booth was closed.Smallest and quietest attendance at TBBO I have seen, Next to no spectators at the Sauntner goal; the beer booth was closed."

Sadly on a personal note the once mighty (8 flags in 20 years!) Sandringham FC have had another wasted year under the agreement with St Kilda the worst performing club in VFA/VFL/AFL history and I wonder how many real supporters the Zebras have left now and how long before St Kilda have their own reserves team and dump Sandringham?